NIKO.
I didn’t get another chance to speak to Alex that night.
That fact alone sat like a weight on my chest, heavy and unmoving. The house felt different without her voice drifting through the halls, without the quiet presence that had somehow become essential to my sense of calm. I replayed the moment over and over in my head—my words, my actions, the look on her face when she had gone quiet. I hated myself for it.
I hated even more that she was probably hurting because of me.
By the time night settled fully over the house, doubt had begun to creep in, leaving me so unsettled. Had I pushed too hard? Had I underestimated how fragile the ground beneath us still was? I had sworn to be careful with her heart, sworn to stand by her no matter what, and yet here I was—standing on the other
